A Rockier Start
by Elemental Serenity
Summary: What if Bella's first meeting with the Cullens didn't go as smoothly as it did? Just a quick one-shot, ExB of course.


**Very short one-shot I decided to write based on a dream I had last night (don't ask lol). It may be a bit OOC, but I'll leave you to be the judge of that. I hope you like it! **

**I haven't read the book, so I apologize but I'm going to set this during Bella's first trip to the Cullen household during the movie, because it's been a while since I've read the books and I have the movie on my iPod lol :)  
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As we pulled up to the large, white house, I couldn't help but feel another wave of nervousness come over me. I had no doubt in my mind that they wouldn't hurt me – I was scared that they wouldn't like me. I was still trying to figure out why Edward likes, or maybe even loves – my heart fluttered wildly at the idea – me so much.

Edward swiftly turned off the ignition, got out of the car, and opened my door before I could even reach for the handle. I smiled shyly in thanks as he closed it and walked beside me to the door.

Walking inside, I couldn't help but stare at the beauty of the house. Inside was full of white furniture and elegant decorations, everything beautifully clean and spotless. "This is incredible," I gasped, as Edward helped take off my jacket.

"What'd you expect?" he asked jokingly. "Coffins and dungeons and moats?"

"No," I said sarcastically, "Not the moats."

He smiled his famous crooked smile. "Not the moats." Walking towards the stairs, he slowed to a stop and turned towards me. "This is the one place we don't have to hide," he explained. He looked thoughtfully at me for a moment, then his smile returned. "I told them not to do this," he muttered, continuing up the stairs.

I was confused for a moment, but as we neared the top of the stairs I could smell the scent of cooking food and the sound of a TV.

"Whoo, get a whiff of that," I heard Rosalie mutter. I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. "Here comes the human…"

As we rounded the corner, we were immediately met with a woman with beautiful caramel-colored hair and a bright smile. "Bella, we're making Italiano for you," she said brightly.

I smiled nervously, not wanting to spoil their obvious good moods with news of my already-full stomach.

"Bella," Edward started as Esme looked back at her family excitedly. "This is Esme, my mother – for all intents and purposes." I couldn't help but notice the others smiling at me as well, including Emmett, who was enthusiastically waving a kitchen knife as a greeting.

"Bon giorgno," I greeted, using the only Italian words I knew.

"Molto bene," she replied, pleased.

Carlisle turned from the kitchen sink and smiled just as pleasantly. "You've given us an excuse to use the kitchen for the first time!"

"I hope you're hungry," Esme said, almost as a question.

Not wanting to disappoint all of their hard work, I quickly told them, "Yeah, absolutely."

"She already ate," Edward sighed.

I suddenly heard glass shatter behind Esme and looked over, startled. Rosalie walked away from the littered area, her high heels clicking and her piercing eyes glaring at me. "Perfect," she snarled in frustration. Emmett sighed and walked towards her.

I glanced at Edward – he should've just let it be. "Yeah, it's just – because I know- I know you guys don't eat…" I said nervously. I was already off to a bad start.

"Of course," Esme said kindly. "It's very considerate of you."

"Just ignore Rosalie," Edward said, annoyed, "I do."

"Yeah," Rosalie quipped, looking at her family. "Let's just keep pretending like this isn't dangerous for all of us." Emmett tapped her lightly on the shoulder, trying to keep the situation cool. It didn't work.

Trying to preserve myself from any accusing thoughts, I quickly defended, "I would never…tell anybody- anything…"

Carlisle sighed. "She knows that."

"Yeah well the problem is," Emmett started. Oh no. Not him too… "You guys have gone public now, so…"

"Emmett," Esme quietly cut him off.

"No, she should know." Rosalie had turned her sharp stare at me once more. I looked down, too uncomfortable to look at her condemning gaze. "The entire family will be implicated if this ends badly."

After an uncomfortable couple of seconds, I lifted my gaze somewhat. "Badly as in…I-I would become the meal…" While I did mean it to be a bit humorous, I didn't expect the family to chuckle as much as they did – even Rosalie couldn't help but smile. I wanted to smile too, but still felt so ashamed and embarrassed at causing the uneasy scene that I lowered my gaze once more.

Suddenly I heard a small voice coming from the open glass door. "Hi, Bella!" I looked over just as Alice and Jasper walked in. Alice had a bright smile on her face while Jasper looked like...well, like he was in pain. "I'm Alice," she chirped, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Uhh, hi," I said nervously.

"Oh," she suddenly gasped as she pulled away. "You do smell good!"

Awkward, I didn't know what to say. Edward, also looking a little uneasy, started, "Alice, what are you..?"

"It's okay, Bella and I are going to be great friends!"

For a while, no one knew what to say. I looked at Alice, then Jasper – who looked like he was even more pain. Carlisle must have seen this because he mentioned, "Sorry, Jasper's our newest vegetarian. It's a little difficult for him…"

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Jasper said quietly – I could hear the restrain in his voice.

I smiled slightly back at him when Alice comforted him with, "It's okay, Jasper – you won't hurt her."

Looking over at Edward, I almost laughed at his 'How much more awkward and disturbing could this conversation get?' look. "Alright," he started, "I'm going to take you on a tour of the rest of the house…."

"I'll see you soon!" Alice said happily.

I looked at her, surprised by her enthusiasm. "Ok…"

"Was that as weird for you as it was for me?" Edward laughed when we were half way up to the next floor.

"I dunno," I admitted, giggling a bit.

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After touring the upper portion of the house – I adored Edward's room – I decided I wanted to look around the lower half of the house for a bit. Walking down to the living room, I noticed Emmett sitting on the couch, holding a still very angry-looking Rosalie. They were talking in hushed tones but I still caught Rosalie growl, "Great, here she comes."

Edward snarled quietly and I swallowed, trying hard not to show my hurt emotions. As we walked into the room, Rosalie quickly stood, glared at me, and left. Emmett tried to give me a quick smile and left after her.

"Just ignore her, please," Edward said again, glaring after his sister. I nodded, and followed him as he walked over to a grand piano and sat on the bench. He grinned, gesturing towards the empty space next to him. Pushing back some of my earlier unhappy feelings, I smiled and took the seat next to him.

He suddenly became very focused on the piano, running is hands lightly across the keys before starting to play. The melody that came from the piano was slow and beautiful; it nearly brought tears to my eyes. I listened and closed my eyes, humming along as I became accustomed to the tune. When he finished playing, I felt disappointed that it was over.

"I wrote that for you," Edward said quietly, smiling sideways at me.

I felt my cheeks burn bright red as I looked into his topaz eyes, smiling in return before I looked away sheepishly.

"Bella!" I looked up to see Alice come walking – no, more like dancing – into the room, Jasper right beside her. "I have something for you!"

"You – what?" I said uncertainly. She got me something already? We'd basically just met today…

"It's nothing big," she assured, handing me a small, rectangular purple box as I stood up. When I didn't open it immediately, she urged, "Go on, open it!"

"You got _her _something?" I heard Rosalie sneer at the doorway. The other three glared at her, and she fell silent.

Feeling uncomfortable once more, I lifted the lid of the box to find a glass rose sitting inside. "Alice," I breathed, "this is beautiful! I can't accept this…"

"Nonsense!" Alice said excitedly. "I found it the other day and knew you'd love it!"

For the first time since entering the house, I gave someone other than Edward a genuine, relaxed smile. "Thanks, Alice." Putting the lid back on the box, I held it with one hand and went to give the pixie-like girl a hug, which she gladly accepted.

Suddenly feeling a tickle in my nose, I pulled back and put my face into my elbow as I gave a small sneeze.

Alice, Jasper, and Edward each giggled a little bit, and I looked around, embarrassed. "Sorry…" I murmured softly.

"Don't be," Edward assured, grinning. "It was cute."

"Gross was what it was," Rosalie again snapped at the doorway.

It was almost becoming too hard to hide my mortification any longer. I took a quick glance outside and realized how dark it'd become. "I should go…" I sighed.

"I'll drive you home," Edward said, leading me towards the door. I turned to give everyone a quick wave good-bye, and two things happened at once – I felt my foot catch on the edge of the carpet, and I heard Alice call my name. But her warning came just a second too late as I tripped and immediately began to fall. Edward, of course, caught me just in time.

However, he didn't catch the small purple package I'd been carrying.

As I heard the shrill sound of the glass smashing against the floor, I cringed and looked away. Edward helped me up, and I forced myself to look at the damage.

Most of the rosebud had been shattered into small pieces, and the stem had been broken in half. I stared at it, horrified. I went to pick up the pieces and Edward and Alice were instantly beside me, Edward holding my shoulders and Alice by my side. Tears began to fall down my cheeks as I whispered, "Alice, I'm so sorry…I'm so, so sorry…I didn't mean –"

"It's okay, Bella," she said soothingly, trying to pull my hands away from the fallen crystal. "It can be replaced. It's ok."

I heard a familiar groan behind us. "Typical human. Can't even stand on her own two feet. It's amazing she hasn't killed herself on accident already."

Hurt, ashamed, and embarrassed far more than I'd ever felt before, I immediately bolted towards the first comforting place I thought of – Edward's room. Sprinting up the stairs, I realized Edward must have hesitated following me for a moment because I made it to his room and collapsed into sobs on the floor, and buried my face in my arms on his couch before he came.

"Bella? Bella, love, look at me," he soothed with his warm voice, kneeling beside me. I didn't bother wiping away my tears before looking at him, though he did so for me once my eyes met his. "Bella, why are you crying? You did nothing wrong."

I released another sob and looked downwards. "B-But I…I'm just a klutzy little human…Your family must think…I don't know…"

"My family?" Edward said, confused. "Bella, other than Rosalie – who, trust me, will get over this – my entire family loves you."

"Why? I've done nothing but cause chaos in this house all day." My sobs had reduced to sniffles, though tears were still falling.

Edward chuckled a bit. "I admit, we did have a couple of rough patches today…" I crossed my arms further and leaned my face against them, facing away from his angelic face. "But Bella, that wasn't your fault. We're just adjusting to having someone new – and different – around here. And I should've caught that box, I didn't mean to let it fall."

I paused. "So they don't hate me?" I muttered, still unsure, and turned to look at his face when he responded.

Edward smiled. "No, love. They love you, actually."

"You sure?" I said jokingly yet quietly.

"Positive."

Sighing, I wiped away the last of the tears as I sat up. "Well now they must think I'm a cry-baby," I chuckled.

"Actually, they feel quite guilty," he said with a more serious tone. I looked up at him confusedly. "Mind reader, remember, love?"

"But why do they feel guilty?"

"They wanted to make you feel welcome, not end up crying all over my couch."

"Sorry about that…"

Edward chuckled. "Stop saying sorry, Bella. You have nothing to be sorry for."

I almost said sorry again, but caught myself. Instead I nodded, and let him help me stand.

"Ready to go home now?" he asked. I nodded again, and he led me down the stairs.

As we reached the bottom of the last set of stairs, I saw everyone but Rosalie waiting in the entryway.

"Bella, we're so sorry if we made you feel anything less than welcome here," Esme said, a look of sympathy in her eyes. She immediately met me at the last step and pulled me into a hug.

"We promise, your presence here was very much enjoyed," Carlisle assured.

I smiled sheepishly at them all and gave them a sincere, "Thank you. I appreciate everything you've done for me today."

"Anytime, Bells!" Emmett said with a wide grin. I laughed – even with Rosalie as his girlfriend (or was it wife? I wasn't sure..), he'd be fun to have around.

We said a few more goodbyes before Edward and I departed, and I left in a lot better mood. It might have been a rough start, but I knew things would get much better as we went.

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Review? :D**


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